A Reborn Spirit
by Canon Archives
Summary: Fred Weasley II slowly catches on to the broken part of his father over the years, and does what he can to help out. George can't help but notice how much his son reminds him of the twin brother that he lost...


**Hi there...**

**Since having the worst breakdown of my life when How to Train Your Dragon 3 came out, I have been avoiding the HTTYD fandom like the plague. So I decided to go back to the safety of my original fandom of Harry Potter, where I can obsess over the equally depressing situation of George Weasley (really productive, I know).**

**I actually wrote this years ago but never published it, though I'm not entirely sure why. I was going through a bunch of my old stuff and when I read this one I thought, why not?**

**I've gained a great fascination with the next generation and their relationship with their parents. This was written to express how Fred II reacts to the post-war George as his father. **

**Disclaimer: I own none of these characters, they all belong to JK Rowling.**

* * *

The first time he noticed it he was six.

Fred and his sister Roxanne were spending the weekend helping their dad in the Hogsmeade shop. Fred was bustling back and forth between the stock room and the cart outside, carrying boxes of the next shipment.

"Here you go, Roxy," he said, as he pulled out the bubble wrap from the box he just opened. He threw it to where she was sitting on the ground, popping bubbles on her lap.

"Yay!" She cheered between pops. Fred continued to empty the box of spellcheck quills onto the bottom shelf.

"Oi, Freddie!" His dad came in from the front of the shop. "Those don't go there."

His dad knelt down by the box Fred had been emptying and took the quill from his hand. "This shelf is only for Christmas things, see?" He pointed out the expanding snowglobes on the lowest shelf. "The school related products like these," he held up the quill and stood up, "go on the third shelf right here," he said as he placed it on the shelf above Fred's head.

"Oh, oops," Fred apologized. "Sorry, Daddy."

His dad laughed lightly and ruffled his light brown hair. "Don't worry about it, Freddie."

And it was then that he saw it. For a moment, an odd expression came over his dad's face. Fred was used to his dad always smiling, but now he suddenly looked sad. His eyebrows bent inwards and his forehead scrunched up into creases. He frowned and his eyes became misty; Fred had the strange sensation that his dad wasn't really looking at him, but at something else far far away.

"Daddy look!" Roxy exclaimed, and in an instant the expression vanished. The carefree smile returned.

"My goodness, Rox," he turned to Fred's four year old sister. "Are you planning to pack yourself up and send yourself away?"

"No," she replied. "I'm popping bubbles!"

"Popping bubbles?" He laughed. He grabbed Roxy off the ground and started making popping noises in her ear. Fred laughed along with his sister, and his dad tickled Roxy until she was squealing.

"Alright," he said finally, letting Roxy go so she could breathe. "Good work, kids. We're going to close up in about half an hour, so I gotta go back out and help the customers. Keep unpacking!"

He ruffled Fred's hair again and headed back out to the front of the store. He stopped in the doorway for one more moment and caught Fred's eye. The sad expression flashed over his face once more before he smiled and left the room.

* * *

The second time Fred noticed it, it was a few years later when they were at a family reunion at the Burrow.

It was right after dinner, when the kids had all been kicked out so the parents could have 'adult time.' Fred was with his cousin James, who was the same age as him. He was about to follow Rose and Al up the stairs, when James stopped him behind the door to the kitchen and pulled him aside.

"Hey Freddie," he said quietly. He pulled something out of his pocket, and Fred's eyes widened when he saw what it was.

"How did you get that?" He hissed, grabbing the extendable ears excitedly from his cousin.

"They were hanging out of your dad's pocket and I grabbed them as we left the kitchen. Tell me I'm not a genius," he smirked.

"You are _not_ a genius," Fred replied, before bending down to tuck one end of the device underneath the door.

The two cousins squatted down with their backs against the door and each listened into one of the fake ears.

"... wish we'd had a potions professor like that," they overheard their Aunt Hermione saying. "I might have actually liked the subject."

"And I might have actually tried," Uncle Harry added.

"Mm, nah," their Uncle Ron disagreed. "I would have hated potions even if Snape was as lovable as a puppy." There were laughs around the dinner table.

"Well Victoire has absolutely fallen in love with it," their Uncle Bill said. "She's hoping to specialize in it after she graduates."

"I'm going to miss having kids at home when they finally leave," James' mom sighed in a dramatic tone. "It must feel so lonely." Fred grinned and James rolled his eyes.

"Believe me, Ginny," Fred's mom replied. "You will not miss James when he finally gets out of the house."

James snorted and Fred shushed him, giving him a warning look.

"It is a little lonesome at first, yes," their Aunt Fleur answered more thoughtfully. "But I have found that it allows us to bond much more closely to each of our children."

"That is true," their grandmother joined the conversation. "But you still have a whole year left with Louis. Once your last child leaves for Hogwarts, I promise you will feel as old as the Whomping Willow."

There were laughs at the table again, and they heard some scraping of chairs against the floor. It was quiet a moment, and then suddenly a voice blasted into the extendable ears.

"You know," it said, and the two cousins jumped. "As much as we love our children, we all hate when they use our own inventions against us."

The boys whipped around behind the door and looked into the peep hole. Fred's dad was staring straight back at them, with the other end of the contraption close to his mouth. They both scrambled to their feet and opened the door.

"Dad it wasn't me I swear!" Fred defended immediately. "It was James' idea! It was all him!"

"Oh thanks a lot, Freddie," James glared at his cousin. "Way to have my back."

The two boys waited to be scolded, both knowing that they had been caught doing something they weren't supposed to. Fred watched his dad's eyes as they lingered a little too long on James. He looked suspicious, and somewhat wary at the same time. He took the two ears away from them and began wrapping up the old eavesdropping device before finally looking up at Fred.

Fred expected his expression to be stern, but instead he seemed to be lost in thought. His eyes glossed over, like he was recalling a painful memory. Although he was still looking at Fred, it was as though he was seeing something else.

He glanced at James again, and the expression went away, but when he looked back at Fred he appeared baffled. His eyes darted once more between the two boys before he finally took a breath and spoke.

"Please don't take my things, boys," he said quietly. He finished wrapping the extendable ears and put them in his pocket. "I promise, you have no interest in what we are talking about. We aren't hiding anything."

He looked at both of them again, curiously, like he was noticing something for the first time. His face did remain serious, though, so Fred and James knew to be apologetic.

"We're sorry, Dad," Fred said, as James murmured "sorry" as well.

Fred's dad nodded in satisfaction, and then went back to sit at the dinner table, signaling to the boys that they were to go upstairs now. Fred didn't move immediately though. He watched his dad carefully as he slumped back into his seat, ran his hand over his face tiredly, and stared across the table at Uncle Harry and Aunt Ginny, still lost in thought. Fred could only feel confusion before James pulled him up the stairs.

* * *

Fred saw it again on Platform 9 3/4, right before he boarded the train for his first year at Hogwarts.

They met up with James and his family on the platform, both cousins ecstatic to begin their own school adventures. The train was going to be leaving soon, so they quickly loaded their things on board.

"We're going to discover a new secret passage, Freddie!" James was saying. "And when we decide which professor is the worst sodding prat, we'll hide dungbombs in his classroom."

Fred agreed, reminding him of his stash of goodies in his trunk that he took with him from the shop. "We are going to own this school!" He told James, and they grinned mischievously at one another.

"Are we going to get goodbyes from the troublemakers?" Fred's mom came over to them, arms outstretched.

James and Fred gave their moms quick kisses, before turning to their dads for hugs.

"Bye Freddie," his dad said quietly, and Fred was struck by how much emotion there was behind his words. Fred looked up, and once again he had that pained look of longing on his face.

Fred tried to smile reassuringly. "Dad, it's only one year. And I have Christmas break in four months."

"Yeah I know," he said, running his hand through Fred's hair. He took a shaky breath. "Just... Don't forget to come back." His voice cracked, and Fred hugged him one more time in an attempt to comfort him. He thought it was a little odd that his dad thought he wouldn't come back, but he didn't say anything about it. Instead, he just smiled and boarded the train with James.

Once they had found a compartment on the train, Fred waved out the window. "Dad!" He shouted, as the train whistled and began to pull out of the station. "We solemnly swear that we are up to no good!"

His dad waved back, and the last thing Fred saw before he sat back down was a bright, proud smile on his face.

* * *

It wasn't until his third year that he finally figured out what it meant.

It was May 2nd, the twentieth anniversary of the Battle of Hogwarts, and all the veterans and families of the war heroes came to celebrate and mourn at the Hogwarts memorial. The students got a day off of school to join their families.

"Mum," Fred asked, once he and his sister had found her in the crowd. "Where's Dad?"

His mum looked at him meaningfully. "Your father needs some alone time today, Freddie," she told him. "Stay with me."

Fred knew that his dad had lost his twin brother in the battle, so he understood what his mother meant. He spotted him a little ways away, leaning against a pole by the memorial and looking at the names on the wall— and he saw it again. That same expression, the one Fred had seen his dad give him so many times, enveloped his face. He looked like he was in an entirely different world.

Something dawned on him in that moment, and Fred remembered hearing stories of his dad and his uncle at Hogwarts. He quickly excused himself from his mother and his sister, and made his way through the crowd to find James. He found him with his own family, and Fred pulled him aside.

"I have an idea," Fred told his cousin. "Come with me."

He explained his idea to James, and they made a plan. After setting everything up, Fred left James crouched behind the memorial and he stood in the middle, where he could see both his dad and James. Fred gave James a thumbs up when he was ready.

As a bright colorful firecracker boomed in the sky above the memorial, and while the rest of the crowd gasped, Fred saw his dad look up. He gave a small smile of appreciation before looking around. When he saw Fred watching him, for once he didn't look sad. He was surprised, but also grateful, and a truly happy smile spread over his face. Fred winked, and for a moment the thirteen year old boy thought he heard the wind whispering in his ear:

_Mischief managed._

* * *

**Thanks for reading, and please leave a review!**


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